UDOT PLANNED AVALANCHE CLOSURES!!

Avalanche: Superior

Observer Name
Dean Tanner
Observation Date
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Avalanche Date
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Region
Salt Lake » Little Cottonwood Canyon » Superior
Location Name or Route
South Face of Superior, LCC
Elevation
10,700'
Aspect
South
Slope Angle
40°
Trigger
Skier
Trigger: additional info
Intentionally Triggered
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
Wind Drifted Snow
Weak Layer
Density Change
Depth
4"
Width
80'
Vertical
900'
Comments
Strong N winds on the ridgeline up to Superior. We dropped into the main shot of the south face of Superior at 0845. A slope cut released a small (30 ft across, 4 inches deep) wind slab below the skier. The slide ran for probably 1000 ft down the gully. About 200 vertical feet below the summit, another slope cut/traverse triggered another wind/soft slab (80ft wide, 4 inches deep, red arrows on photo) that propagated outward on both sides of a ridge and ran for 900 vertical. The wind slabs were very reactive. The surface underneath was hard sun crust. The slides were very manageable and broke away below the skier both times. The snow lower down on the shot was variable and ranged from dense powder to sun/wind-affected crust.
Coordinates